Sustainable development: EU strategy, policy and programmes

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Sustainable developmentEU strategy, policy and
programmes

• Anamarija Slabe, Institute for Sustainable
  Development
• EEB European Environmental Bureau, Executive BM

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What is EEB?

• The largest EU umbrella organisation of envi NGOs
• Membership 143 member organizations in 31
  countriesNon-governmental organisations,
  dealing with environmental issues and nature
  protection. 
• EEB has consultative status at and relations
  with
• the Council of Europe, 
• the Commission of the EU, the European
  Parliament, 
• the Economic and Social Committee of the EU, 
• the OECD and 
• the UN Commission on Sustainable Development
  (CSD).

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EEB - Mission

• The mission of the EEB is to become an effective
  instrument in visibly improving EU's
  environmental policies and realising sustainable
  development by effectively integrating
  environmental objectives in horizontal and
  sectoral policies of the EU as well as ensuring
  compliance with effective strategies to realise
  these objectives.

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EEB to SDS review (within G10)

• A programme for the Sustainable Development of
  the European Union
• - Proposals from Environmental Organisations for
  a realistic and ambitious Sustainable Development
  Strategy to be adopted by the June 2006
  European Summit

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EU and sustainable development

• 1997 SD included in the Treaty of Amsterdam as a
  fundamental objective of the EU
• June 2001 1st SDS (Sustainable Development
  Strategy) at the Gothenburg Summit
• June 2006 Renewed EU Sustainable Development
  Strategy (for an enlarged EU)

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1st EU SDS 2001

• Composed of two parts
• OBJECTIVES POLICY MEASURES
• How to tackle most important unsustainable trends
• Revision of the policy-making
• New approach to policy-making achieve mutual
  reinforcement of economic, social and
  environmental policies of the EU

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1st EU SDS objectives policy measures

• combat climate change,
• ensure sustainable transport,
• address threats to public health, such as
  chemicals pollution, unsafe food and infectious
  diseases,
• manage natural resources more responsibly and
  stop biodiversity decline,
• combat poverty and social exclusion, and
• meet the challenge of an ageing population.

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1st EU SDS Revision of the policy-making

• Impact Assessment procedure
• Each new policy proposal has to be submitted to
  IA!
• Global dimension of SDS was stressed EU
  obligations towards other nations, particularly
  developing countries
• Relation to Lisbon strategy
• SDS is overarching!

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Towards renewed EU SDS, 2006

• Progress achieved, but... unsustainable trends
  persist.
• 2004 public consultation
• 2005 guiding principles for SD adopted by the
  European Council

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Renewed EU SDS

• Climate change and clean energy
• Sustainable transport
• Sustainable production and consumption
• Public health threats
• Better management of natural resources
• Social inclusion, demography and migration
• Fighting global poverty

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Renewed SDS commitments

• (from Eur. Council Declaration, June 2005)
• Key objectives
• Environmental protection
• Social equity and cohesion
• Economic prosperity
• Meeting our international responsibilities
• Policy guiding principles
• Key challenges

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Climate Change and clean energy
• Overall objective To limit climate change and
  its costs and negative effects to society and the
  environment
• Operational objectives and targets
• Kyoto Protocol commitments of the EU-15 and most
  EU-25 to targets for reducing greenhouse gas
  emissions by 2008 2012, whereby the EU-15
  target is for an 8 reduction in emissions
  compared to 1990 levels. Aiming for a global
  surface average T not to rise by more than 2ºC
  compared to the pre-industrial level.
• By 2010, 12 of energy consumption, on average,
  and 21 of electricity consumption, as a common
  but differentiated target, should be met by
  renewable sources, considering raising their
  share to 15 by 2015.
• Reaching an overall saving of 9 of final energy
  consumption over 9 years until 2017 as indicated
  by the Energy End-use Efficiency and Energy
  Services Directive.

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Sustainable Transport
• Overall objective To ensure that our transport
  systems meet societys economic, social and
  environmental needs whilst minimising their
  undesirable impacts on the economy, society and
  the environment.
• Operational objectives and targets
• ...
• In line with the EU strategy on CO2 emissions
  from light duty vehicles, the average new car
  fleet should achieve CO2 emissions of 140g/km
  (2008/09) and 120g/km (2012).
• Halving road transport deaths by 2010 compared to
  2000.

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Sustainable consumption and production
• Overall objective To promote sustainable
  consumption and production patterns.
• Operational objectives and targets
• Promoting sustainable consumption and production
  by addressing social and economic development
  within the carrying capacity of ecosystems and
  decoupling economic growth from environmental
  degradation.
• Aiming to achieve by 2010 an EU average level of
  Green Public Procurement (GPP) equal to that
  currently achieved by the best performing Member
  States.
• ...

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• Sustainable consumption and production
• Actions should include
• The Commission and Member States will explore
  specific actions to bring about more sustainable
  consumption and production patterns at EU and
  global level, in particular through the UN
  Marrakech Process and the Commission for
  Sustainable Development. In this context the
  Commission will propose an EU Sustainable
  Consumption and production Action plan by 2007,
  which should help to identify and overcome
  barriers for SCP and to ensure better coherence
  between the different related policy areas and to
  raise awareness among citizens and change
  unsustainable consumption habits. .
• Member States should support information
  campaigns with retailers and other organisations
  to promote sustainable products inter alia
  products that stem from organic farming and fair
  trade as well as environmentally sound products.

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Conservation and management of natural resources
• Overall objective To improve management and
  avoid overexploitation of natural resources,
  recognising the value of ecosystem services.
• Operational objectives and targets
• Halting the loss of biodiversity and contributing
  to a significant reduction in the worldwide rate
  of biodiversity loss by 2010.
• Avoiding the generation of waste and enhancing
  efficient use of natural resources by applying
  the concept of life-cycle thinking and promoting
  reuse and recycling.

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• Conservation and management of natural resources
• Actions should include
• Member States should complete the Natura 2000
  network, including designation of marine areas.
  Particular attention should be paid to the need
  for improved implementation of both Natura 2000
  and of species protection and management
  policies.
• Member States should implement the EU
  Biodiversity Strategy in both its EU and its
  global dimensions (Convention on Biological
  Diversity) and, in cooperation with the
  Commission, take measures to identify and
  implement priority actions to achieve the
  objective of halting the loss of biodiversity by
  2010 and beyond.

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Public Health
• Overall objective To improve management and
  avoid overexploitation of natural resources,
  recognising the value of ecosystem services.
• Operational objectives and targets
• Curbing the increase in lifestyle-related and
  chronic diseases, particularly among
  socioeconomically disadvantaged groups and areas.
• Ensuring that by 2020 chemicals, including
  pesticides, are produced, handled and used in
  ways that do not pose significant threats to
  human health and the environment. In this
  context, the rapid adoption of the Regulation for
  the registration, evaluation, authorisation and
  restriction of chemicals (REACH) will be a
  milestone, the aim being to eventually replace
  substances of very high concern by suitable
  alternative substances or technologies.
• Improving information on environmental pollution
  and adverse health impacts.

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Social inclusion, demography and migration
• Overall objective To create a socially inclusive
  society by taking into account solidarity between
  and within generations and to secure and increase
  the quality of life of citizens as a precondition
  for lasting individual well-being.
• Operational objectives and targets
• Pursuing the EU objective that steps have to be
  taken to make a decisive impact on the reduction
  of the number of people at risk of poverty and
  social exclusion by 2010 with a special focus on
  the need to reduce child poverty
• Reducing the negative effects of globalisation on
  workers and their families

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Renewed SDS Key challenges

• Global poverty and SD challenges
• Overall objective To actively promote
  sustainable development worldwide and ensure that
  the EUs internal and external policies are
  consistent with global sustainable development
  and its international commitments.
• Operational objectives and targets
• Contribute to improving international
  environmental governance (IEG), in particular in
  the context of the follow-up to the 2005 World
  Summit outcome, and to strengthening multilateral
  environmental agreements (MEAs).
• Raise the volume of aid to 0,7 of Gross National
  Income (GNI) by 2015 with an intermediate target
  of 0,56 in 2010.

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Renewed SDS

• Cross cutting policies for knowledge society
• Education and training
• Research and development
• Financing and economic instruments
• Promote market transparency
• Prices that reflect real (E, S, E) costs
• Shift taxation from labour to resource and energy
  consumption/pollution
• Gradually eliminate harmful subsidies
• Funding should work for SD enhance
  complementarities and synergies of Community
  funding (Coh. P., RD, Life, Res. Tech. Devel.,
  Comp. Innov. Prog., ...

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Renewed SDS

• Communication, mobilising actors and multiplying
  success
• Mainstream SD in information, awareness-rising,
  communication activities of the Commision
• Role of MS, regional and local level (Local
  Agenda 21...) Municipalities/cities to sign
  Aalbog commitments support to networks
• EC to develop promotion of Eur. Sust. Cities
  Towns Campaign
• Active involvement of all stakeholders
  (Bussiness, NGOs, workers org.)
• Civil society initiatives to create more
  ownership of SD

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Renewed SDS

• Implementation, monitoring and follow-up
• 2-year progress reports
• Development of indicators at appropriate levels
• Voluntary SD peer reviews in Member States
• 2-year re-orientation on the basis of progress
• MS to complete national SDS by June 2007
• 2011 assess the need for a comprehensive review
  of EU SDS

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EU SD policies

• Sustainable cities urban environment
• The Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment
• Support for cities
• Funding (LIFE, CIVITAS urban transport,
  INTERREG...)
• Case studies, good practices
• Tools
• Urban environment data
• Policy documents
• Everything available on
• http//ec.europa.eu/environment/urban/thematic_str
  ategy.htm